Beyond the Production Line

‘Fordism’, is the word that symbolizes mass production.  Henry Ford, the owner of Ford Company, formulated this procedure in his automobile factory, where each worker who specialized in each task would repetitively perform his job on the ‘production line’.  This concept is somewhat similar to modernism, with Le Corbusier’s vision of uniformity achieved through mass production.  Now, after the introduction to the newer movement of architecture, there came the ‘Post-Fordism’, the opposite of the Fordism.  Post-Fordism grants the customers the privilege of uniqueness, specification, and personalization, since it is tailor-made, flexible and customizable.  It can be categorized roughly into 2 types: deconstructivism and parametricism.

Bridge Pavilion in Zaragoza, Spain
by Zaha Hadid

Walt Disney Concert Hall
by Frank Gehry

Deconstructivism, in my opinion, is trying to break all the old rules of architecture.  Using curves and non-rectilinear shapes instead of straight lines and simple geometrical shapes, deconstructivism introduces new forms that we have never seen before, flowing and connecting.  Its style is to break down structure into small parts and then reassemble it back.

Parametricism, I think we can say that it is the current style that we are using.  It uses the help of digital modeling programs such as Rhinoceros and MAYA to create organic, free- forms, coming from the imaginations of the architects.  This really changes the face of architecture and increases the possibilities since it enables us to visualize the works that look impossible to construct at first glance.

Technology combining with the style that does not restrict us to a single form, this leads us to lots of possibilities where our imaginations can come to reality.  I really believe that this kind of architecture would be lasting, since the final shapes of each project comes out differently, it doesn’t make the style grow old and boring.  This is the future of architecture.